Woman Gets Passed Up For Job Because Of Her Voicemail

Ally Perry • Writer and Editor

Feb 3, 2022 1:00 PM EST

When you're job hunting, the number one most important thing to be mindful of is professionalism. At least, it is for those of us actually scrolling through Indeed every day and slowly getting your soul chipped away bit by bit, not the people who can call in favors from their friends in high places. Attitude is everything throughout the whole process.

There is a weighty books' worth of unwritten rules of how to act in the job application process, and something as small as the tone of your voice or what kind of shoes you wear can be enough for certain employers to decide on rejecting you outright. Some recruiters are a lot more petty than others, and they will take no hesitation in dropping an applicant over the slightest misstep — as @zanayajones8 ended up finding out after being unexpectedly brushed off by a role she had been applying for.

She recently went viral for sharing a recording of an employer leaving her a message to say that they were not going to progress her application after hearing her voicemail. Suggesting that she have a "more appropriate response" if she was expecting a call from a job, viewers were intrigued as to what had displeased the recruiter.

@zanayajones8 #harristeeter #fyp #dumbmanagers ♬ original sound - zanayajones8

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Commenters were shocked when Zanaya revealed the offending voicemail.

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After the message was unveiled, it prompted a little debate. Some suggested that she should have been a lot more prepared if she expected to get an interview, and that her rejection was unsurprising. Many others, though, were appalled that she had been judged on something so inconsequential, with a few even wondering if the employer's reaction had had racially prejudiced overtones.
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Regardless of the reasoning behind the abrupt treatment of Zanaya, there's no denying that experiencing this kind of behavior would be a serious setback for anyone. At a time when we conduct pretty much our entire lives through our phones, we probably shouldn't be expected to have them on business mode 24/7. We are people before we are employees, and although the facade is important, it's also essential that we acknowledge that it's not always close to reality.